Purposive Sampling Definition and Types

A purposive sample is a non-probability sample that is selected based on characteristics of a population and the objective of the study. Purposive sampling is different from convenience sampling and is also known as judgmental, selective, or subjective sampling. Purposive Sampling Types Maximum Variation/Heterogeneous Purposive SampleHomogeneous Purposive SampleTypical Case SamplingExtreme/Deviant Case SamplingCritical case SamplingTotal Population SamplingExpert Sampling This type of sampling can be very useful in situations when you need to reach a targeted sample quickly, and where sampling for proportionality is not the main concern. There are seven types of purposive samples, each appropriate to a different research objective. Types of Purposive Samples Maximum Variation/Heterogeneous A maximum variation/heterogeneous purposive sample is one which is selected to provide a diverse range of cases relevant to a particular phenomenon or event. The purpose of this kind of sample design is to provide as much insight as possible into the event or phenomenon under examination. For example, when conducting a street poll about an issue, a researcher would want to ensure that he or she speaks with as many different kinds of people as possible in order to construct a robust view of the issue from the publics perspective. Homogeneous A homogeneous purposive sample is one that is selected for having a shared characteristic or set of characteristics. For example, a team of researchers wanted to understand what the significance of white skin—whiteness—means to white people, so they asked white people about this. This is a homogenous sample created on the basis of race. Typical Case Sampling Typical case sampling is a type of purposive sampling useful when a researcher wants to study a phenomenon or trend as it relates to what are considered typical or average members of the effected population. If a researcher wants to study how a type of educational curriculum affects the average student, then he or she choose to focus on average members of a student population. Extreme/Deviant Case Sampling Conversely, extreme/deviant case sampling is used when a researcher wants to study the outliers that diverge from the norm as regards a particular phenomenon, issue, or trend. By studying the deviant cases, researchers can often gain a better understanding of the more regular patterns of behavior. If a researcher wanted to understand the relationship between study habits and high academic achievement, he or she should purposively sample students considered high achievers. Critical Case Sampling Critical case sampling is a type of purposive sampling in which just one case is chosen for study because the researcher expects that studying it will reveal insights that can be applied to other like cases. When sociologist C.J. Pascoe wanted to study sexuality and gender identity develop among high school students, she selected what was considered to be an average high school in terms of population and family income, so that her findings from this case could be more generally applicable. Total Population Sampling With total population sampling a researcher chooses to examine the entire population that has one or more shared characteristics. This kind of purposive sampling technique is commonly used to generate reviews of events or experiences, which is to say, it is common to studies of particular groups within larger populations. Expert Sampling Expert sampling is a form of purposive sampling used when research requires one to capture knowledge rooted in a particular form of expertise. It is common to use this form of purposive sampling technique in the early stages of a research process, when the researcher is seeking to become better informed about the topic at hand before embarking on a study. Doing this kind of early-stage expert-based research can shape research questions and research design in important ways. Updated by Nicki Lisa Cole, Ph.D.

The Benefits Of Cancer Screenings - 766 Words

Janeska Mendez The benefits of cancer screenings Out of thousands of diseases in the world cancer is one of the many diseases found that can cause your body to eventually shut down and result in your death. It is a disease caused by a genetic mutation in your cells, causing you to become weak and unable to fight infections, this disease can be treated and cured by using a high degree of radiation called chemotherapy. Most people with a weak immune system aren t able to fight the disease for very long, so you might only be cured temporarily, the disease can come back if it has spread throughout your body. Routine cancer screenings leads to an early detection of the disease, giving you a higher chance of saving many lives. For any individual male or female there is a high risk of getting a disease based on their family history. Many people have opinions on the benefits of cancer screenings being harmful to a person s health, they say that over time the effects of high doses of radiation on the body can result in you slowly damaging your health. Said by Gilbert Welch, professor of medicine, we should be doing fewer screening mammograms, not more. Although the research of the effects of mammography may be true, having less screenings would lead to more dangers of getting a further progressed disease and having no chance of beating the disease. It isShow MoreRelatedThe Pros and Cons of Health Screening Essay1093 Words   |  5 PagesHealth screening according to Durojaiye, (2009) is a systematic application of a test or inquiry, to identify individuals at sufficient risk of a specific health problem to warrant further investigation of direct preventive action, among persons who have not sough t medical attention on account of symptoms of that problem. According to this definition the main aim of screening program is to detect disease or risk factor, among the general population, in order to implement earlier preventive or therapeuticRead MoreProstate Cancer And The American Cancer Society1529 Words   |  7 Pagesprostate cancer (Eggener, Cifu, Nabhan, 2015). In 2015, prostate cancer was the second most common cancer related cause of death among United States men (Eggener, et. al., 2015). While the majority of prostate cancers are slow growing with a 5-year survival rate of approximately 98%, statistics show that when prostate cancer is identified as metastatic, the 5-year survival rate dramatically drops down to 20-25% (Eggener, et. al., 2015). According to these numbers alone, it appears screening for prostateRead MoreImportance Of Cervical Cancer Screening1278 Words   |  6 Pages(USPSTF) recommends cervical cancer screening with cytology testing (also known as a Pap Smear) every three years in women ages 21 to 65 (U.S. Preventative Services Task Force [USPSTF], 2016a). The USPSTF has graded this recommendation with an â€Å"A† indicating that they have a high level of certainty that the screening will prove to be beneficial, rather than harmful to the patient (USPSTF, 2016a). However, if this patient would prefer to receive cervical cancer screening every five years, the USPSTFRead MoreRisks of PSA Testing Essay1595 Words   |  7 Pagesdeveloping cancer, and 10 ng/ml is a 50% risk of cancer. However, some men with normal PSA levels still have prostate cancer, while other men with high PSA levels do not. PSA levels increase with age often due to a higher prevalence of benign prostate hypertrophy (BPH). Therefore, no PSA cutoff can accurately guarantee that a man does not have prostate cancer. PSA blood levels are used for several different purposes such as to diagnose prostate cancer, evaluate treatment of prostate cancer, and toRead MoreIs Mammography A Type Of Radiologic Imaging Used For Early Detection And Diagnosis Of Breast Disease?1567 Words   |  7 Pagesdetection and diagnosis of breast disease in women† (American Cancer Society). Patients receive doses of radiation that are much larger than that of a chest x-ray. It is rarely noted, that the act, in and of itself, may contribute to the development of malignant cells. Dr. Samuel Epstein, one of the top cancer experts, explains that the premenopausal breast is highly sensitive to radiation, each 1 rad exposure increases breast cancer risk by about 1 percent. He goes on to say that a single bilateralRead MoreProstate Cancer and PSA Testing Essay1252 Words   |  6 PagesIntroduction Prostate Cancer (PCa) is the most common cancer affecting men and the second leading cause of cancer death among American men (Qaseem, Denberg, Owens, Shekelle, 2013). Medical professionals have been using prostate specific antigen (PSA) screenings along with digital rectal exam (DRE) for many years to screen for prostate cancer. PSA was first identified in 1966 in semen, followed by the identification of PSA in blood in 1979. The PSA test has been approved for use since 1994 to detectRead MoreBreat Cancer Screening Essay1514 Words   |  7 PagesBREAST CANCER SCREENING DR. DANA MORTEZ ARLECIA PURVIS JULY 17, 2011 Current research shows mammograms are stronger than in the past. In a recent study it has confirmed that mammograms benefit for women in their forties and fifties. Women feel confident about the benefits that are associated with a regular mammograms for finding cancer early. However, mammograms can have their limitations. A mammogram will miss some cancers, and it sometimes can leadRead MoreHigh Mortality Rates Among Men Essay1504 Words   |  7 PagesThe shared concern among medical professionals about the potential for higher mortality rates among men over fifty due to smoking has prompted medical professionals to encourage more lung cancer screening. Screening is recommended for all men and women under the age of 80 who are present smokers or were smokers in the past. De Koning et al. (2014) identify three sub-categories for current and past smokers between 55 and 80 years old. One category covered those with 25 years since stopping, or 20Read MoreThe Anatomy Of The Lungs1366 Words   |  6 PagesCancer of the lungs takes more lives every year than breast, colon, and prostate cancer combined. In order to prevent these statistics from happening, Low-dose Computed Tomography Scans (LDCT Scans) can be used to prevent the cancer cells from spreading. Medicare and Medicaid are willing to pay for such screenings for those who are 55-77 years of age and who have smoked a pack of cigarettes a day for over 30 years or those who are smoking currently within that age group. The cost for such screeningsRead MoreBreast Cancer : The Most Common Cause Of Death Among Women Essay1574 Words   |  7 PagesBreast cancer is the most common cause of death among women (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2016). The latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (C.D.C.) state that in 2013 230,815 women in the United States were diagnosed with breast cancer, and in 2013 40,860 women died from breast cancer (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2016). From 2002 to 2012, the occurrences of a breast cancer diagnosis remained at an even level, however the death rate from breast

Site Finding And Planning For Wind Farms Environmental Sciences Essay Free Essays

Finding a air current farm site is a juggle act where many, frequently conflicting, issues need to be considered and balanced before a determination to develop a possible site is taken. At the most basic degree, after set uping that the end product from a air current power undertaking can be sold at an acceptable monetary value, the following are the acerb trials for any possible development: 1.Is grid connexion probably to be cost effectual for the coveted size of development? 2. We will write a custom essay sample on Site Finding And Planning For Wind Farms Environmental Sciences Essay or any similar topic only for you Order Now Is the air current resource adequate? 3.Will the undertaking be able to obtain all the licenses necessary for the air current farm to be built? 4.Is entree to the site and building of the air current farm likely to be cost effectual? 5.Can the rights to the land be secured? A good outlook that the reply to all of the above trials will be positive is a pre-requisite for doing the investing necessary to gain a undertaking, although necessarily early determinations need to be made on uncomplete information. A Each of the issues is considered in a little more item below: Grid connexion When looking for a site, propinquity to a medium electromotive force grid is a good initial index that an appropriate connexion is practical. The following phase of the procedure is to keep treatments with the appropriate electrical authorization. A The consequences of such treatments will normally bespeak a cap, or a series of caps on the upper limit installed capacity at a possible site which are associated with increasingly more dearly-won grid connexion scenarios. A Some elaborate analysis by the electrical authorization, at the cost of the developer, may be necessary before even approximative figures are available. A The presence of merely a high electromotive force line near to a little or average air current farm may non be helpful as the cost of connexion to such a grid may be prohibitory. Wind Resource It is hard to generalize how best to measure the air current resource at a possible air current farm site when no site air current informations are available, as different states have markedly different air current governments. A Some general regulations, for which there are many noteworthy exclusions, are listed below: Good exposure, peculiarly in the prevailing air current way, will well better the resource at a site. The rate at which wind velocity reduces off from the countries of a site with the best exposure should non be underestimated. A An â€Å" ideal † hill would hold smooth inclines of about 17 A grades gradient. Steeper inclines do non give significant extra sweetening of the air current flow but can do separation of the flow which complicates the air current conditions at a site. A Low flora at and around a site retards the air current flow less than tall flora. A However, a site with good exposure and little trees is likely to turn out better than a site with hapless exposure and no trees. A Building licenses Key issues will change between parts and states but common sense indicates that countries with particular appellations are best avoided. A Low visibleness from cardinal countries of habitation or diversion is besides desirable. A If there are homes within a few 100 metres of the air current farm site noise or shadow spark may turn out an insurmountable job in some states. A Turbines can interfere with electromagnetic telecommunications signals. A The presence of a telecommunications mast at a site or such signals which cross a site may therefore perplex the procedure of obtaining a edifice license. A A cheque for telecasting communications should besides be made which may non be evident from ocular review. Entree The distance to the nearest route entree and the complexness of the terrain will well act upon the capital cost of the undertaking. A Land handiness Land handiness varies from state to state but a possible site where there are comparatively few landholders and landholders who can give sole rights to the developer is the ideal state of affairs. The job of site happening lends itself good to a thorough and elaborate Geographical Information System ( GIS ) based attack where air current atlases, an electrical grid map, roads, environmental appellations and other standards can all be input and the optimum sites defined. A In pattern, nevertheless, a more matter-of-fact attack may good turn out more appropriate. 2. WIND FARM LAYOUT DESIGN The air current farm layout is typically designed utilizing a professional air current farm design bundle. A Such tools allows for an effectual loop and optimization of the cardinal parametric quantities for the layout. Preliminary layout design Once a site has been identified and the determination has been taken to put in its development the air current farm design process commences. A This is necessarily an iterative procedure. A The first undertaking is to specify the restraints on the development: Maximum installed capacity ( due to grid connexion or Power Purchase Agreement footings ) Site boundary Set dorsums from roads, homes, overhead lines, ownership boundaries etc. Environmental restraints Location of noise and shadow spark sensitive homes, if any, and appraisal standards Location of visually sensitive point of views, if any, and appraisal standards Turbine minimal spacings as defined by the turbine provider. Constraints associated with communications signals such as microwave nexus corridors, if any. Local ordinances that limit the turbine type permissible for the development. These restraints may alter as treatments and dialogues advancement with assorted parties. For the intent of specifying the preliminary layout it is necessary to specify about what sizes of turbine are under consideration for the development, as the installed capacity accomplishable with different sizes of turbine may change significantly. A The choice of a specific turbine theoretical account is frequently best left to the more elaborate design stage when the commercial footings of the assorted providers are known. Specification of anemometry The air current resource at the site is the cardinal parametric quantity in finding its economic viability. To measure the energy for a undertaking it is necessary to obtain informations on the local air current government. Typically this means installing anemometry equipment at the site. The preliminary layout allows the air current measurings to be made in appropriate locations. As a general regulation the mast should be at least two tierces of the hub tallness of the turbines. A utile regulation in complex terrain is that no turbine is located more than 1 kilometer from the closest mast. In really terrible terrain, the closest mast should be within 500m, but for air current farms located in simple terrain a much lower denseness of masts over the site may be appropriate. For big developments that require several masts there may be advantages in ab initio put ining merely one mast on the site. Once it is confirmed that the air current resource is sensible, other masts can be install ed to corroborate the fluctuation in air current velocity over the site country. Provided the original mast remains as a changeless mention other masts can be moved after, say, six months of operation to cut down the entire figure of masts required.+ Detailed layout design A cardinal component of the layout design is the minimal turbine spacing used. A In order to guarantee that the turbines are non being used outside their design conditions, the minimal acceptable turbine spacing should be obtained from the turbine provider and adhered to. The appropriate spacing for turbines is strongly dependent on the nature of the terrain and the air current rose at a site. A If turbines are spaced closer than 5 rotor diameters in a frequent air current way it is likely that intolerably high aftermath losingss will ensue. A For countries with preponderantly uni-directional air current roses, such as the San Gorgonio Pass in California, greater distances between turbines in the prevailing air current way and tighter spacings perpendicular to the prevailing air current way will turn out to be more productive. A Tight spacings require blessing by the turbine provider if warranty agreements are non to be affected. With the air current farm restraints defined, the layout of the air current farm can be optimised. A This procedure is besides called air current farm â€Å" micrositing † . A The purpose of such a procedure is to maximize the energy production of the air current farm whilst understating the substructure and operating costs and run intoing all restraints. A For most undertakings the economic sciences are well more sensitive to alterations in energy production than substructure costs. A It is hence appropriate to utilize the energy production as the dominant layout design parametric quantity. The elaborate design of the air current farm is facilitated by the usage of commercially available air current farm design tools. A Once an appropriate analysis of the air current government at the site has been undertaken, a theoretical account is set up which can be used to plan the layout, predict the energy production of the air current farm every bit good as being used to turn to economic and be aftering related issues. For big air current farms it is frequently hard to manually deduce the most productive layout. A For such sites a computational optimization utilizing a air current farm design tool may place a layout for which significant additions in predicted energy production are achieved. A Even a 1 % addition in energy production from improved micrositing could easy stand for an addition in one-year gross of $ 50,000 to $ 100,000 for a 50 MW air current farm. A The computational optimization procedure will normally affect many 1000s of loops and can include noise and ocular restraints. A Wind farm design tools handily allow many substitutions on air current farm size, turbine type, hub tallness and layout to be considered rapidly and expeditiously increasing the likeliness that an optimum undertaking consequences. A Financial theoretical accounts may be linked to the tool so that returns from different options can be straight calculated, further streamlining the development determination doing procedure. In many states the ocular influence of a air current farm on the landscape is an of import issue. A The usage of computational design tools allows the Zone of Visual Influence ( ZVI ) , or visibleness footmark, to be calculated to place from where the air current farm will be seeable. A The tools may besides be used to supply visual images, to ease the production of photomontages and to foretell the noise and shadow spark which consequences from a proposed development. A These are frequently cardinal facets of the Environmental Assessment for a undertaking. Figure 1 shows an initial preliminary layout of a air current farm consisting of 26 turbines that meets all site specific restraints. A There are two noise sensitive homes west of the proposed air current farm with a defined noise bound that are marked with brooding icons. A The solid black line represents the site boundary in which the turbines can be placed. The layout of the air current farm after the optimization is shown in Figure 2. A Compared with the initial layout the predicted energy production has increased by about 3 % . A In the upper subdivision of Figure 2 the optimised layout of the air current farm superimposed with the noise degrees predicted for this layout can be seen. A A rendered visual image of the air current farm visual aspect from a point of view sou’-east of the air current farm is shown at the underside. How to cite Site Finding And Planning For Wind Farms Environmental Sciences Essay, Essay examples

Langston Hughes Mother to Son free essay sample

This paper analyzes the content of the poem Mother to Son by the poet Langston Hughes. This paper examines the text of this poem from a African-American perspective. The analysis uses poetic devices and the background of the literary environment. Line by line analysis is provided to show how the poem uses the everyday ordinary dialect of blacks, and gives insight into the poverty and discrimination that blacks faced during the 1920s. `Between 1919 and 1926 there was a major population shift of African-Americans to the cities of New York, Chicago, and Washington, D.C (America Online). In 1921, Langston Hughes was one such African American who had traveled to New York to attend Columbia University. This population shift resulted in an obvious display of creativity among the African-American race. The creativity broadened the scope of African American influence on the American society, culture and primarily literature. The influence was so enormous and collective that it took form of a movement, which began in about 1920 and lasted until about 1930. We will write a custom essay sample on Langston Hughes Mother to Son or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This period was first known as the `New Negro Movement,` but it later became known as the Harlem Renaissance. The Harlem Renaissance represented the African American intellect and the consequent intellectuals who celebrated their heritage and background with immense pride and gusto. It was during this movement and into this heady climate that the poem `Mother to Son` was introduced. The politico-literary climate was charged and just ripe and the need for African American contribution was being recognized. One of the critics voiced the urgent need when he cried, `what American literature decidedly needs at the moment is color, music, gust If the Negroes are not in a position to contribute these items, I do not know what Americans are.` `

Peter Browning and Continental White Cap free essay sample

Peter Browning was promoted to the position of Vice-President of Continental White Cap in 1984 after holding the position of Vice President and General Manager of Continentals Bondware Division where he turned losses into profits. Browning was faced with the daunting task of rejuvenating and repositioning the Chicago division in the face of upcoming competition from other producers of vacuum sealed metal closures for glass Jars. In addition, White Caps customer base was being influenced by the new emerging plastic-packaging technology Oick Peiperl, 2011). Below, we iscuss the obstacles Peter Browning faced in the wake of one of the biggest challenges of his career. Even Richard Hofmann, Executive Vice President of the parent company Continental Group, acknowledged that Brownings assignment put him smack dab between a rock and a hard place Oick Peiperl, page 210). Peter Browning: Macro/Micro Problem and Causes Continental White Cap was a very successful company with impressive profits for the last 50 years leading up to 1984. We will write a custom essay sample on Peter Browning and Continental White Cap or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This success caused several major obstacles for Browning with one being that only a few people at White Cap would acknowledge the need for change Oick Peiperl, 2011). Any financial slumps were blamed on a cyclical and transient market. The second obstacle was the well-known family-style culture and long-term paternalistic management philosophy that founder William P. White and his two brothers instilled since the companys inception. This paternalistic management philosophy created great loyalty from the employees, long-standing traditions of Job security and generous benefits packages. Brownings attempt to alter these traditions would be met with great resentment. Another obstacle was the burden of systems and processes keeping White Cap from moving forward and continuing as a market leader. Brownings assignment was to revitalize and reposition the division to remain a market leader Oick Peiperl, 2011). In 1984, there were by then five significant manufacturers in the national market place and 70 worldwide Oick Peiperl, 2011). The advantage White Cap had maintained in the market made it difficult made it difficult to effectively stay competitive with competitors, such as National Can Company, making drastic price cuts to gain market share Oick Peiperl, 2011). Browning came to the conclusion that without production of a plastic cap closure, White Cap would become irrelevant and continue to lose customers. Senior management of White Cap compounded this problem with the reluctance to allow RD to commercialize plastics developments since plastics threats in the past never materializing Oick Peiperl, 2011). Organizational Systems Affected The organizational structure was the first and most obvious affected. The structure was never set up as a hierarchy management system with top down management approach. It is obvious by reading the case that Continental Group, Inc. managed their divisions with a separate operating philosophy. Hence the reason White Cap operated with less than open and cooperative relations with the parent ompany Oick Peiperl, 2011). Continental Group viewed White Cap as this prima donna division witn inta ed salaries 2011). bove its other divisions Oick Peiperl, Psychosocial issues in this case stem from the employees feeling a sense of entitlement from the family culture. When you have over 51 percent of the employee population over 40 and another 30 percent over 50 and these two age groups never witnessing great financial downturns, change isnt going to be a welcome addition. Technical and managerial systems in this case were also affected. Brownings attempt to mov e the company to a more efficient operating model as done with the Bondware Division, would mean leaner management with less layers and a production system that would rejuvenate White Caps competitive advantages dick Peiperl, 2011). This strategy would be met with inherited department management such as Jim Stark, the Director of Marketing. At a time when major, long-term customers in established markets where attracted to the emerging use of plastic- packaging technology, Jim Stark was content with administering outdated existing programs Oick Peiperl, 2011). Another inherited management issue for Browning was the manager of human resources, Tom Green, whos offered nothing in the way f constructive ideas and quick management decisions. However, his twenty plus years with White Cap gave Browning an advocate and voice with employees dick petperl, 2011). The goals and values of the organization were to remain successful in a competitive environment, be a profitable company and to maintain and not demoralize a loyal work force and management Oick Peiperl, 2011). Browning hoped that his success and familiarity with White Cap would lead to creative thinking and a long run at making a successful company survive through change initiatives and competitive forces. Alternative Solutions Even-though Peter Browning was very successful at turning around the Bondware Division of Continental Group, Inc. , and using radical surgery to do so, White Cap would prove to be a much bigger challenge Oick Peiperl, 2011). Browning will need to use a softer approach and get an over-whelming buy-in if he is to be successful. He must make the management and employees realize that Continental Group, Inc. wns White Cap. Not the other way around. Recommendations and Implementation Plans My recommendation would be for Peter Browning to take on a parenting strategy approach. Keep the divisions but introduce a collaboration concept to White Cap management. What the parenting strategy does is focus on resources and capabilities used to build value across business division s. The funds that come from such a strategy could help White Cap reach above their competitors rather effortlessly and build the systems needed to compete in the new plastics technologies. Another recommendation is the horizontal growth strategy. Through this strategy, White Cap could acquire market share, production facilities, or specialized technology. Which is desperately needed as market share was falling fast by 1985 Oick Peiperl, 2011). White Cap could expand into regions that they have not ventured into and will help position them at the top of most plastics markets. Due to competition, White Cap will need to differentiate by providing unique and superior value to customers in terms of quality, special features, or after-sale services. Such as cap replacement tor warrantied products Witn the strategies White Cap nas in place and their proposed plan to become leaner and efficient, I feel that the best strategy would be the competitive strategy. White Cap is doing well with most of their strategic factors and the competitive strategy would help them realize what is taking lace around them, especially since they are in the ever changing lid business where threats and weaknesses can destroy progress due to overlooking competition and innovation. The program I feel that best fits White Cap would be to implement the TQM program (total quality management) as it stresses commitment and without it, nothing will work. TQM also emphasizes prevention. The whole organization will focus on customer satisfaction internally and externally. The emphasis on training in areas such as how to measure and interpret data will greatly improve the operations hrough-out White Cap.

Battle of Belleau Wood in World War I

Battle of Belleau Wood in World War I Part of the 1918 German Spring Offensives, the Battle of Belleau Wood took place between June 1-26 during World War I (1914 to 1918). Fought predominantly by US Marines, victory was achieved after twenty-six days of combat. The main German attack was repulsed on June 4 and US forces began offensive operations on June 6. The battle halted the German Aisne offensive and launched a counterattack in the area. Fighting in the forest was particularly fierce, with the Marines attacking the wood six times before it was finally secured. German Spring Offensives In early 1918, the German government, freed from fighting a two-front war by the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, chose to launch a massive offensive on the Western Front. This decision was largely motivated by a desire to end the war before the full strength of the United States could be brought into the conflict. Beginning on March 21, the Germans attacked the British Third and Fifth Armies with the goal of splitting the British and French and driving the former into the sea (Map). After driving the British back after making some initial gains, the advance stalled and was ultimately halted at  Villers-Bretonneux. As a result of the crisis caused by the German attack, Marshal Ferdinand Foch was appointed Supreme Commander of the Allied Armies and tasked with coordinating all operations in France. An assault to the north around Lys, dubbed Operation Georgette, met a similar fate in April. To aid these offensives a third attack, Operation  Blà ¼cher–Yorck, was planned for late May in Aisne between Soissons and Rheims (Map). Aisne Offensive Beginning on May 27, German storm troopers broke through the French lines in Aisne. Striking in an area that lacked substantial defenses and reserves, the Germans forced the French Sixth Army into a full retreat. During the first three days of the offensive, the Germans captured 50,000 Allied soldiers and 800 guns. Moving quickly, the Germans advanced to the Marne River and were intent on pressing on to Paris. At the Marne, they were blocked by American troops at Chateau-Thierry and Belleau Wood. The Germans attempted to take Chateau-Thierry but were stopped by US Army forces centered around the 3rd Division on June 2. 2nd Division Arrives On June 1, the Major General Omar Bundys 2nd Division took up positions south of Belleau Wood near Lucy-le-Bocage with its line extending south opposite Vaux. A composite division, the 2nd consisted of Brigadier General Edward M. Lewis 3rd Infantry Brigade (9th 23rd Infantry Regiments) and Brigadier General James Harbords 4th Marine Brigade (5th 6th Marine Regiments). In addition to their infantry regiments, each brigade possessed a machine gun battalion. While Harbords Marines assumed a position near Belleau Wood, Lewis men held a line to the south below the Paris-Metz Road. As the Marines dug in, a French officer suggested that they withdrawal. To this Captain Lloyd Williams of the 5th Marines famously replied, Retreat? Hell, we just got here. Two days later elements of the German 347th Division from Army Group Crown Prince occupied the forest. With their attack at Chateau-Thierry stalling, the Germans launched a major assault on June 4. Supported by machine guns and artillery, the Marines were able to hold, effectively ending the German offensive in Aisne. Marines Move Forward The following day, the commander of the French XXI Corps ordered Harbords 4th Marine Brigade to retake Belleau Wood. On the morning of June 6, the Marines advanced, capturing Hill 142 to the west of the wood with support from the French 167th Division (Map). Twelve hours later, they frontally assaulted the forest itself. To do so, the Marines had to cross a wheat field under heavy German machine gun fire. With his men pinned down, Gunnery Sergeant Dan Daly called Come on ya sons-of-bitches, ya want to live forever? and got them on the move again. When night fell, only a small section of forest had been captured. In addition to Hill 142 and the assault on the woods, the 2nd Battalion, 6th Marines attacked into Bouresches to the east. After taking most of the village, the Marines were forced to dig in against German counterattacks. All reinforcements trying to reach Bouresches had to cross a large open area and were subjected to heavy German fire. When night fell, the Marines had suffered 1,087 casualties making it the bloodiest day in the Corps history to date. Clearing the Forest On June 11, following a heavy artillery bombardment, the Marines pressed hard into Belleau Wood, capturing the southern two-thirds. Two days later, the Germans assaulted Bouresches after a massive gas attack and almost retook the village. With the Marines stretched thin, the 23rd Infantry extended its line and took over the defense of Bouresches. On the 16th, citing exhaustion, Harbord requested that some of the Marines be relieved. His request was granted and three battalions of the 7th Infantry (3rd Division) moved into the forest. After five days of fruitless fighting, the Marines retook their position in the line. On June 23, the Marines launched a major attack into the forest but were unable to gain ground. Suffering staggering losses, they required over two hundred ambulances to carry the wounded. Two days later, Belleau Wood was subjected to a fourteen-hour bombardment by French artillery. Attacking in the wake of the artillery, US forces were finally able to completely clear the forest (Map). On June 26, after defeating some early morning German counterattacks, Major Maurice Shearer was finally able to send the signal, Woods now entirely -US Marine Corps. Aftermath In the fighting around Belleau Wood, American forces suffered 1,811 killed and 7,966 wounded and missing. German casualties are unknown though 1,600 were captured. The Battle of Belleau Wood and the Battle of Chateau-Thierry showed the United States allies that it was fully committed fighting the war and was willing to do whatever was required to achieve victory. The commander of the American Expeditionary Forces, General John J. Pershing,  commented after the battle that The deadliest weapon in the world is a United States Marine and his rifle.  In recognition of their tenacious fighting and victory, the French awarded citations to those units that participated in the battle and renamed Belleau Wood Bois de la Brigade Marine.   Belleau Wood also showed the Marine Corps flare for publicity. While the fighting was still going on, the Marines routinely circumvented the American Expeditionary Forces publicity offices to have their story told, while those of Army units engaged were ignored. Following the Battle of Belleau Wood, Marines began being referred to as Devil Dogs. While many believed that this term was coined by the Germans, its actual origins are unclear. It is known that the Germans highly respected the Marines fighting ability and classified them as elite storm troopers.

The Defining Moment of the Discipline of Building Character Article

The Defining Moment of the Discipline of Building Character - Article Example A typical defining moment occurred in our business firm sometime back that forced the management into making a decision that would ordinarily seem crazy. The firm deals with interior designing focusing mostly on beautification accessories such as aquaria and sculptures and paintings. The management and the staff of the company were therefore quite excited when we received a local purchase order from a local bank ordering 35 aquaria from us for its various branches. We are a small company and the order was the largest we had ever received. We felt up to the task. Everybody rolled up their sleeves and got to work. Two days into the work, we received another substantial order for carpets and chairs for the local cathedral. The church had for a long time been our customers and had made numerous minor purchases from us. This purchase was the biggest they had made from us and they paid 25% of the total cost in line with our company terms of service. The bank had made a similar payment at t he time of ordering. The problem was that they needed the chairs and carpets within the fortnight, an uphill task considering that we had the aquaria order at hand. Disaster struck when the company’s request for credit was declined. We were left with a shortage of funds to complete both projects in time. Our efforts to acquire materials on credit also hit the rock. We, therefore, had to decide between one of our clients and deliver to one in time while failing the other. It is imperative to note that after delivering to one, we would have to wait for them to pay up so that we could complete the other’s project. We did not know which would be the lesser evil, to fail one of our most loyal customers or the client who had offered us our biggest deal yet. A solution seemed to present itself with the entry of a third client who wanted his beach house interior renovated. The customer was in no hurry to have the house refurbished. However, to have enough capital to complete b oth projects, we had to ask the third customer to pay fifty percent of the total cost and risk doing his project late as payment from the other two projects could be made anytime within 90 days.

Tom DeLay indictment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Tom DeLay indictment - Essay Example While it is not a criminal offence to receive additional funding, becoming charged of conspiracy in a campaign finance scheme has serious implications. Unlawful transfer of company's assets or property to finance election campaigns is strongly prohibited in Texas State. Nevertheless, it was found that the sum $190,000 was transferred from associates of DeLay and companies to the accounts of seven candidates. John Colyandro and Jim Ellis were also accused in violation Texas election law. In spite this fact, "no evidence to support the conspiracy charge was cited in the indictment, which says only that DeLay and two named associates entered "into an agreement with one or more of each other" or with the committee to conduct the funds transfer" (Smith, 2005). The only evidence presented to the a Texas grand jury was the check in corporate money, but Tom Delay denies the fact that he used corporate funds illegally and conspiringly. DeLay told "I have done nothing wrong. ... I am innocent" He added that "the charges amounted to "one of the weakest and most baseless indictments in American history." (DeLay indicted, steps down as majority leader, 2005). Tom DeLay's attorney, Dick DeGuerin, stated that the money transferred were "lawfully collected from individuals who knew what they were contributing to".

Imposing tax on soda Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Imposing tax on soda - Essay Example It’s a serious problem that people are facing. Yet levying soda tax, does have a proper way of controlling obesity. First, soft drinks tax might increase low-income family economic burden. For example, many low-income families in the U.S have more than 3 members, and any spending expenses could be important to them. Leonhard (2010) reports that â€Å"a small soda tax could actually have a worse impact on some families’ budgets than a substantial one---by raising the price of soda without affecting consumption† (p.1).It’s similar with teenagers, even though they are big soda drinkers, they are especially price sensitive. In addition, low-income family has few members who are overweight due to their economic situation. It’s unfair to them to pay soda tax. Secondly, it could not reduce the quantity of obesity. There are a great number of factors such as eating habits or racial groups that cause obesity. For instance, fast food such as McDonald, KFC are popular in American. Burgers, fries are parts of people live. They have high calories and they also lead to fat build up. McLeay point out (2003) â€Å"one out of four people in America eat fast food.† Myfit.ca reveals that 50 million people in the U.S. rely on fast food. People are able to drink water or juicy instead of soda† (as cited in Helpugide. Org). Yet it’s hard to change their eating habits. If say soda drinks is a factor that causes obesity, fast food is the root cause of obesity. Therefore, levying tax mere on soda drinks cannot decrease the level of obesity. Besides, racial groups also have effect on the level of obesity. Marlow and Shires (2010) explained â€Å"Consumption data reveal that white persons consume more carbonated soft drinks than other ra ce groups, and that blacks consume more high-calorie fruit drinks and ads. Nutritive sweetened beverages suggest that fruit drinks and Ades are a greater cause of obesity than carbonated soft drinks† (p.37). If the

Antoni Gaudis Architecture Style

Antoni Gaudis Architecture Style Introduction In order to appreciate Antoni Gaudis creative vision we must look at the context in which he worked. It seems that previous studies of Gaudi have not researched extensively into placing him within this cultural context; and have rather preferred to outline him as a lonely reclusive figure or concentrated on his elaborate architectural forms. This dissertation will explore whether political, social and economic developments in the late 19th and 20th Centuries in Catalonia and Spain proved touchstones for the architect, his work and his immediate circle; and whether these factors influenced his creative decisions and have been overlooked throughout his life. The work is composed of three inter-related sections. The first section will discuss Gaudis Catalan roots, and early social influences. Park G?ell will be used to illustrate this. The second section explores Catalan nationalism, social classes and the rise of Catalan industrial capitalism. It will also examine the political conflict and tensions between Castile and Catalonia, including the three Carlist wars, which were fought out on Catalan territory, the disastrous effects after Spains loss of her empire in 1898, and the impact of Tragic Week in 1909. It will consider how these may have affected Gaudi and his working rationale. This section will be analysed through the example of the Casa Mila. The third section will examine Gaudis shift in faith and the impact that this had on his architecture. This will be shown through the example of the Sagrada Familia (Holy family) Cathedral. This discussion starts by considering the view expressed by Clara Gari of the Catalan architects approach: Perhaps what makes a quick understanding difficult in Gaudis work is its daring and fascinating uncertainty, that range which slips between architectural code and structure. Such ambiguity is accentuated much more when the matrixes from which Gaudi extracts a determined stylistic code are not always clearly evidenced. But rather they appear, as often happens, ambiguously confused as a consequence of a sort of intervention, prior to the adoption of the chosen code, which by way of a distorted lens, varies the facets and the colour in it, tricking us with a free all embracing conduct, and with an underlying energy directly emanated from the ethnic heritage which is difficult to simplify Gari seems to be commenting that, despite Gaudis classical education and training as an architect, he could risk being very radical in his use of the accepted architectural codes and structures of his time. In Gaudis work, codes and structures seem to be passed through the filter of his imagination and his Catalan identity, and are transformed into something which may appear distorted but can have a powerful effect upon us as observers. Gaudis Catalan roots and early social influences Antoni Placid Guillem Gaudi I Cornet was born in Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain on June 25, 1852, into a family which had come from a long line of Catalan merchants, miners, farmers, weavers, boilermakers and coppersmiths. Gaudi was introduced to the family craft tradition at an early age when watching his father in his workshop. He was proud of this heritage and once said: I have the quality of spatial apprehension because I am the son, grandson, and the great grandson of coppersmiths All these generations of people gave me preparation. Gaudis predecessors came from a cross-Pyrenean culture that bordered the Mediterranean Sea and were accustomed to absorbing influences from different cultures, while somehow retaining their own Catalan identity. The Catalan language, for example, is closer to the tongue of Languedoc in France than it is to Castilian which is spoken in most of Spain. Joan Bergos explains in his book, Gaudi the man and his works, that: Gaudis lineage therefore has deep, i f distant roots in central Europe, mixed with the virtues traditionally found among the people of Tarragona, a typically Mediterranean people, passionate, industrious, courageous in the face of adversity and somewhat inclined to irony. The Mediterranean region of Tarragona, with its natural surroundings and quality of light, are elements of the rural world that Gaudi seems to provide as references to his architectural forms. His love of nature began as a small child, when rheumatoid arthritis, made physical exploration and play painful and difficult and he was restricted to riding around on the back of a donkey, according to family stories, he was able to study his natural surroundings and to create his own imaginary world. Perhaps because of his difficult start in life Gaudi may have developed an inner world of fantasy, shape, structure and colour, produced by his knowledge of the artisans craft and the natural forms found in his environment. Gaudi came from a deeply religious family and received a thorough Catholic religious education generated from the continuation of medieval Guilds. This would have included obligatory prayer to the Virgin, Christian doctrine, religious morals and religious history. By 1874, at the age of 22, Gaudi had moved to Barcelona with his brother Francesc; and here he began his preparation to train as an architect at the Escuela Tà ©cnica Superior de Arquitectura (Upper Technical School of Architecture). Here he studied Spanish architecture which would have focused upon its many cultural traditions, including: Phoenician, Roman, Greek, Visigothic, Celtic, Arab, Berber and Jewish. These would have been completely absorbed into the thinking of contemporary design so that there was no prejudice against the adoption of Islamic motifs and symbols. One could imagine how important this multi-faceted cultural heritage of Spain would have been for the development of Gaudis own approach to architecture. Gaudi also seemed to share the concerns and ideals that surrounded the dynamic and intellectual atmosphere during his youth, and would have been influenced by the famous intellectuals of the time: Pugin, Ruskin and Viollet-le-Duc. The latter was responsible for the Gothic revival in France and as a pupil of Le Grand Durand he had influenced Frances adoption of Renaissance models and rationalist approach to city planning, which had put the country at the forefront of European artistic and architectural debate. One could also presume that Gaudi had read the work of the English writer Ruskin, in which he states, in his book: The seven lamps of Architecture: I say that if men really lived like men, their houses would be like temples which we would not dare to violate so easily and in which it would be a privilege to live. There must be some strange dissolution of family affection, a strange ingratitude towards everything that our houses have given us and that our parents have taught us, a strange awareness of our infidelity with respect and love for our father, or perhaps an awareness that our life is not for making our house sacred in the eyes of our children, which induces each one of us to want to build for ourselves, and to build only for the little revolution of our personal life. I see these miserable concretions of mud and limestone that shoot up like mushrooms in the boggy fields around our capitalI look at them not only with the repulsion of the offended view, not only with the pain that is caused by a disfigured landscape, not with the painful presentiment that the roots of our national grandeza must have infected with gangren e right down to their tips from the moment that they were planted in such an unstable manner in out native soil. It seems that Ruskins moral and aesthetic dilemma was one that Gaudi would also experience as a young professional architect, and he would move between his support of socialist ideals and various privileged connections with the aristocracy and upper middle classes (his possible clients) throughout his life. Gaudi was discovered by the bourgeoisie without whom his architecture would not stand today. However it seems he was not indifferent to the social life of his age and its contradictions. Other contemporaries working towards these ideals, were: Elies Rogent (1821-1897), whose design of Barcelonas University building was influenced by the German Rundbogenstil, which was a Neo-classical rounded arch; Joan Martorell (1833-1906) who designed the Neo-gothic brick and glazed-tiled church of Saint Francesc de Sales (1885); Josep Vilaseca who collaborated with Lluis Domà ¨nech i Montaner (1850-1923) on the Batlo tomb (1885). As his former professor at the Escuela Tà ©cnica Superior de Ar quitectura, Lluis Domà ¨nech i Montaner was at the forefront of the Catalan Modernist movement, also known as the Renaixenca (or Rebirth), which encouraged art, theatre and literature in the Catalan language. He was also responsible for designing the Palau de la Musica Catalana which symbolises the coming together of the Catalan nationalist sentiment and international culture. It also shows a particular connection to Gaudis Colonia Guell, Casa Vicens and Park Guell, though its elaborate ornamentation, sculptures and colourful ceramic mosaics, all of which seem to refer to a deep connection with Catalan nature and nationalism that were apparent at the time. This connection can be seen in the leaf and flower patterns on the facade of the Palau de la Musica Catalana which are inspired by Moorish architecture and followed the curvilinear design seen in Art Nouveau. At the same time, the civil engineer Ildefons Cerda (1815-1876) had been given the commission to expand Barcelonas boundaries by demolishing its walls and providing land for new residential areas. It seems that his plans were influenced by Haussmanns redesign of Paris, and were based on a similar grid system. Cerda was shocked that the working classes were paying proportionately more in rent for their confined living accommodation than the wealthy paid for their luxurious housing. The design for city, although Neo-classical, was also considered realist because of Cerdas understanding of modern urban sociology and living conditions. It seems that this expansion signalled to other architects that it was acceptable to explore new ways of designing public and private spaces. This new sociological attitude towards urban spaces can be seen as the catalyst for the creation of the idea of the Garden City. The concept of setting up communities outside cities was started by enlightened industr ial philanthropists such as Robert Owen, Titus Salt and George Cadbury, creating small housing projects for their workers in England as far back as 1800. However, the most important of the Garden City movement was Ebenezer Howard whose book Tomorrow: A Peaceful Path to Real Reform, published in 1898, was to become highly influential in town planning throughout the 20th century. The Garden City movement is a good example of the changing social attitude towards the built environment and can be seen in the later planning texts of Tony Garnier and of Le Corbusiers ASCORAL, first published as Les Trois Establissements Humains in 1945. In a short text called Notes on the family house (Casa Pairal) written by Gaudi between 1878 and 1881, he reflects on the relationship between house and family: The house is a small nation of the familyThe privately owned house has been given the name of Casa Parial (family home) who among us does not recall, on hearing this expression, some beautiful example in the countryside or in the city? The pursuit of lucre and changes in customs have caused most of these family homes to disappear from the city, and those that remain are in such a terrible state that they cannot last long. The need for a family house is not only limited to one age and one family in particular but is an enduring need for all families. The text seems to be referring to the unity of a nation and of its people, it reflects the understanding of an architect who strives for sanitation and well being, as well as the anti-urban feeling which had arisen in England and spread throughout Europe. One could presume that it also reflects Gaudis deep-rooted connection with the rural world, that of peasant and craftsman, a world from which he had come. Maria Antonietta Crippa explains in her book, Living Gaudi that: Gaudis attention was not directed immediately to the bourgeois house, but to the needs of everyone. She goes on to say that He does not hide his unease at the excessive, over accelerated growth of cities, which uproot many people from the land of their birth and force them to live in rented houses in the land of emigration. And he applauds the decision to abandon congested city centers for the spacious, light-filled, leafy suburbs. Perhaps this sociological approach is what allowed Gaudi to think up the imaginative design that he created for Park G?ell in 1900. This was a garden city which captured the spirit of the 20th century and followed the fashionable trend in Europe for creating large ornamental spaces. It was a public space which would create a haven away from industrialisation, where the common man, both wealthy and poor, could exercise and see public events during their new-found leisure hours. It was also designed as a space where nouveau-riche families could live comfortably away from the crowded city centre. The park seems to reveal Gaudis extraordinary imagination in what could be seen as an optimistic phase of his life. Maria Antoietta Crippa explains that: Gaudis gardens are reminiscent of The Rose Garden, evoked in the first of T.S Eliots Four Quartets: a place that arouses memories of childhood, but which is also a symbol of a past and a future that are alive in our present: Humankind cannot b ear too much reality. / Time past and time future / what might have been and what has been / point to one end, which is always present. She goes on to explain that the garden is a metaphor not just for an earthly paradise, but also of the power of human memory, another expansion of Gaudis inner world. The park draws together urban sociology, his early childhood interest in nature and his strong sense of Mediterranean Catalan nationalism and symbolism. Gaudi uses the Moorish art of trencadis, a method of deliberately breaking tiles and re-arranging them into intricate patterns. He uses this technique on the long serpentine bench-balustrade where broken ceramic pieces have been arranged into words and symbols with religious and Catalan nationalist connotations. Some historians have also suggested that the Doric columns which consist of fluted shafts made of rough stone, covered at the base with white ceramics, and joined to the ceiling by domes which are supported by gently curving be ams, not only evoke the motion of Mediterranean waves but are also reminiscent of the Temple of Delphos and reflect the culture of Greece and the Mediterranean. They believed the structure of these columns existed as a tribute to Greece, which had won its independence from the Turkish Empire, drawing parallels with the political situation of Catalonia and the Catalans desire for independence. Gaudi arrived in Barcelona at a time of important change in architectural thinking and it seems that he benefited from meeting and leading architects of his day, who were involved in the regeneration of Catalan culture, in which, the re-birth of the language had a vital contribution in Catalans rediscovering their heritage and their common identities. In the journal: Tongue tied: The role of linguistics in Basque and Catalan Nationalism, Ryan Barnes explains how important the rebirth of the Catalan language was: Language has always been an essential element of nationalism, providing a distinctive feature and source of pride for a collective people. The ability to communicate with one another is essential to building bridges between strangers and forging the idea of a nation, which instils the idea of unity among a people that have never met Moreover, communication brings knowledge with it. Language conveys the ideas of a people or nation through literacy works such as poems or novels, which nationalists can look back on with pride. It seems that Catalan nationals were comparing themselves, not to the intellectuals in the Spanish capital, Madrid, but to artists and designers of other nations in Europe who were more technologically advanced, such as: England, France and Germany. The Catalan language had been suppressed for many years by Spains central government but now Catalans seemed to take pride in self-expression, while being aware of developments from the other side of the Pyrenees, including the redevelopment of Paris and the creation of the London squares with their ornamental gardens. They also seemed aware of the Neo-gothic architecture which was encouraged by intellectuals such as Pugin, the architect of the Houses of Parliament and John Ruskins ideas on workers education and benefits. It seems that Gaudi too was aware of these ideas, and although Catalonia was isolating itself from the decline of Spain, it was also keeping up with new and important influences from abroad. Catalonia was becoming a deve loped region within an undeveloped country. The history of Catalan nationalism, social classes and the rise of Catalan industrial capitalism and political tensions in Catalonia and Spain. Catalonia had become the industrial centre for the rest of Spain during the 19th century, a period when there was increasing unrest in the whole country. During the 18th century Catalonia had evolved from an economy based on goods for local consumption to an economy with wider commercial aspirations. This industrialisation took place in a country of untapped raw materials and very low purchasing power. Catalonias manufacturing expansion depended upon its source of energy generated from hydraulic turbines on its irregularly flowing rivers, but in the 20th century the hydroelectric potential of the Pyrenees was eventually secured for advancing industrial production. The class system of Catalan society was largely the result of three successive long waves of industrialisation and capital accumulation, with the attendant growth of new factory-linked centres, the massive importance of the workforce, the consolidation of a skilled working class and a large middle class, together with furth er advances in the direction of secularisation and urbanisation. These three long waves entailed the following developments: the growth of the bourgeois class, the rise of an industrial society based, at first, as in so many other places, on the textile industry, and the establishment of great family fortunes. Karl Marx was writing in Das Kapital at this period of time about the expansion of the bourgeoisie in Europe: Constant revolutionising of production, uninterrupted disturbance of all social conditions, everlasting uncertainty and agitation distinguish the bourgeoisie epoch from all earlier ones. All fixed, fast frozen relations, with their train of ancient and venerable prejudices and opinions, are swept away, all new formed ones become antiquated before they can ossify The bourgeoisie has subjected the country to the rule of the towns. It has created enormous cites, has greatly increased the urban population as compared with the rural, and thus rescued a considerable part of the population from rural idiocy. In common with the bourgeoisie across Europe there was an increasing number of newly rich Catalan industrialists such as Eusebi G?ell and Pere Mila i Camps who were seeking the outward expression of their fortunate position in society. The city culture of Barcelona attracted them because it offered them a style of life that was equivalent to what they witnessed in other European industrialised societies. To express their power, and their love of the new, as Marx discusses, they needed modern fashionable architects who could take advantage of the trends in design that were current in those other countries. Most of the architects at this time were drawn into the Capitalist desire to use space as a commodity that could be built on and sold. Gaudi, although willing to offer his considerable talent to industrialists who were acquiring land for building projects, eventually rejected this approach to architecture in favor of a return to the traditional architectural forms, such as church building, as a symbolic representation of Catalan nationhood. According to Maria Antonietta Crippa, Gaudi was already setting out on a different path in terms of the secularisation of modern architecture, as will be demonstrated in the example of the Casa Mila. In her book, Living Gaudi, The architects complete vision, she suggests that: (Gaudis) constructions were built at a time when a utopian, secularising trend was developing in the world of European architecture. This trend, which was radically different from the direction taken by the Catalan architect, proposed the creation of the new urban and residential spaces that would resolve the imbalances caused by the violent growth of cities and by the technological revolution that took place in the second half of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth. Despite the apparently luxurious life of Barcelonas bourgeoisie, the political situation in the whole of Spain was increasingly unstable throughout the 19th century. Instead of developing a system of political parties Spain had been confronted by a series of military coups; and instead of political debate there were attempts to change the written constitution. Between 1822 and 1875, opposition to liberal capitalism led to five civil wars, which were fought out on Catalan territory. The last three were to be known as the Carlist wars, in which royalists and the military opposed the liberals and republicans, and this conflict continued into the 20th century with increasing brutality and bloodshed. The Third Carlist war ended in 1876 when Gaudi was 24. Gaudi believed that: war, offering violence as a solution to any problem, is inevitably demoralising. The Crusades were a failure and many sensible Carlists abandoned that cause in the face of the behaviour of the Carlist forces. It seems that Gaudi was interested in public affairs and followed developments on the political scene. He once said: I am very like my father. At one point, not long before he died, there had just been elections, and he still had enough enthusiasm for the subject to ask me to tell him which candidates had been elected He railed against separatism and he defended energetically the ideas of rationalism and a strong and united Spain. Gaudi was one of a large group of intellectuals known as the generation of 98. In 1898 the political decline of Spain worsened when it entered a war with the USA, which it could not afford to fight. America supported the minority of planters in the colony of Cuba, who were making demands for emancipation from Spain. Following Spanish reprisals against these rebels, and supported by fictitious claims in the US press, America launched an attack on Spanish forces which caused enormous loss of life and led to Cuba being liberated into an American sphere of influence. The shock of defeat in Spain was overwhelming, as Gabriel Tortella explains in The Development of Modern Spain, an Economic History of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries: the loss of markets for industry and agriculture, the loss of human life, of physical and military resources and income to the Treasury, the disappearance of various transportation and communication networks, and perhaps the most important, a widespread sense of revulsion and demoralization. For Spanish rulers and people, it seems that such a national humiliation inflicted by a relatively young democratic state would mark their country out as deeply flawed and unstable in the modern age of the early 20th century, and would be linked to decline, political chaos and eventual brutal civil war in 1936-1939. A few years after this catastrophe, Gaudi began work on the Casa Mila, a building six stories high, with eight apartments on each floor grouped around two internal courtyards, one circular and the other oval. It is designed so that light floods in through the two inner courtyards which are open to the sky. Gaudis idea was that the building should be a pedestal for an enormous statue of the Virgin Mary accompanied by two angels, which he had hoped would stand 25m above the roof of the building and would have dominated the city. The building seems to reflect Gaudis revulsion at the anti-clerical violence in Spain and loss of spiritual meaning in modern day society. Perhaps he would have agreed with Kandinskys view that: the nightmare of materialism, which has turned the life of the universe into an evil, useless game, is not yet past: it holds the awakening soul still in its grip. It seems that Mila I Camps was uneasy about the appearance of the proposed vast statue of the Madonna on the roof of his property, as according to art historian Robert Hughes: given the turbulence of 1904 it would probably lead to the destruction of his building by infuriated anti-clerical mobs. It seemed that Gaudi was obliged to convey the importance and opulence of the life of this new entrepreneurial class, who: did not look to the past, but only desired one thing: to invent their own future. Instead of the statue of the Virgin Mary, Gaudi was compelled to replace it with ventilation towers, chimneys and sculptures. The stair units are topped with crosses with four equal arms and the chimneys are surmounted by small domes similar to warrior heads. According to Maria Antonietta Crippa the resulting sculptures on the roof: (carry) a powerful emotive charge. She goes on to say consider, for example, that way that he uses catenary structures and fluted surfaces, or the features that appear in his artificial landscapes and stone gardens; these elements all work to create a fantasy world, as in the case of the multitextured, undulating faà §ade of Casa Batllo, or the mysterious ghost world of the roof terrace of Casa Mila. Could these anguished, twisted shapes express Gaudis inner fantasy world? Or indeed his mental state at the time? Could they possibly convey the violence of his times and his personal bereavements? It is reasonable to consider that the architects creative process is strongly influenced by his unconscious mind, as Karl Jung argues: Archetypes are numinous structural elements of the psyche which have a degree of autonomy and energy of their own, which allows them to attract whatever contents of the consciousness that suit them. These are not hereditary depictions, but rather certain innate predispositions to form parallel representations, which I called the collective unconscious. One could assume that these distorted forms were connected with his distress at the loss of his preferred sacred symbol, the Mother of Christ, but may also have held a more personal significance as a representation of his own mother, who had died 30 years previously along with his brother Francesc. The period following their deaths, in 1876, had caused an all enveloping depression for Gaudi. Reflecting on the Casa Mila it was probably a good idea that Gaudi had not used the building as a living shrine, as violent protests again erupted in the city, and saw the burning of 40 religious schools, convents and monasteries, and 12 Parish churches in 1909, the rioters considering the Church to form part of the corrupt bourgeois structure. The so-called Tragic Week seemed to affect Gaudi deeply; perhaps this is why everything he produced afterwards seemed to be built in the Catholic spirit of somehow making amends for the destruction. Could it be that he was carrying the burden of unconscious guilt for his own losses and for those that had devastated the Mother Church? At the same time as dealing with this spiritual crisis, it seems that he was coping with failing physical health. The death of Gaudis patron Don Eusebi G?ell in 1918 ground him to a complete halt, after which it is presumed that he had a psychological breakdown. During his last eight years of increasing isolation, perhaps he turned his back on the chaotic events in his country and withdrew into a life of abstinence and religiosity. Upon these painful tragic loses, after his fathers death and the death of his sisters daughter Rosa, his sense of uncertainty about life and on suffering from bouts of Mediterranean fever. He began his descent into a strict life of religiosity. My closest friends are dead; I have no family, no clients, no fortune, nothing. Now I can dedicate myself wholly to my church. Gijs Van Hensbergen summarises the crisis for Gaudis generation when he explains in his book: Gaudi the Biography: Spains loss of her empire in 1898 and the Tragic Week of 1909 in which convents and churches were burnt down; both had strong effects on Gaudi, his friends, patrons and completely changed his working patterns. The political situation in Catalonia was a complex, potentially explosive one. Catalonias alliance with Spain (Castile) was one of immense tensionBefore the civil war, some Spanish intellectuals and politicians recognised the dangers, but tragically they didnt have the power to halt the momentum of the approaching crisis. Few generations have ever been so savagely self analytical as Gaudis. Few have put themselves through such painful discoveryThese political and social tensions between reform and reaction provide the subtext and hidden structures of Gaudis work. Shift in faith and its impact on Gaudis architecture The wish to form something uniquely powerful and symbolic in a time of unpredictable political and social events may be at the heart of Gaudis most famous design, the cathedral. A personal account of Gaudi is given by one of his close friends Joan Bergos who remarked on the transformation in Gaudi during the latter years of his life, when he became completely consumed by his creative masterpiece. Bergos said: Faith changed the passionate, impetuous, irascible youth into a serene, balanced, exemplary man, who only on rare occasions gave vent to any temperamental outburst and who radiated such a beneficent aura that he sometimes inspired conversion and even heroic sacrifice in those lives he touched. Furthermore, Mark Burry suggests in his book Expiatory Church of the Sagrada Familia: Architecture in detail: The Sagrada Familia is a biography of a singular architects coming to terms with his time, his personality and, eventually, his vulnerability. Also one could also consider that Gaudi had been influenced by Viollet-le-Ducs statement that: We must find creativity through an accurate knowledge of the works of our ancestors. Not that such knowledge must lead us to imitate them slavishly, but rather it will reveal and make available all the secret skills of our predecessors. Perhaps what was important for Gaudi was that a designer must take from the traditional what he has absorbed into his own knowledge and re-interpret and re-work it so that it can appear innovatory and familiar, as well as inspirational. When Gaudi moved to Barcelona as a young man, it seems that he had been impressed with its wealth of historical architecture, which dated back to the Middle Ages. He had visited the Basilica Church of Santa Maria del Mar in the Ribera district which has three aisles forming a single space with no transepts and no architectural boundary between nave and presbytery. The simple ribbed vault is supported on slender octagonal columns, and daylight streams in through the tall clerestory windows. The foundation stone was laid by King Alfonso IV in 1329 and the whole building was carried out by local people including dockworkers, who collected the large stone slabs from near

History of Punishment Essays -- Code of Hummurabi

The history of punishment began around the time of when the Code of Hammurabi was written. The death penalty was awarded for crimes of kidnapping, thievery, selling or taking stolen goods, etc. There are many punishments that were used in the world which have been abolished. For example, many nations have abolished capital punishment which follows all around anything dealing with the death penalty. Michigan was the first state to abolish the death penalty later followed by Rhode Island and Wisconsin. In the 2nd century during the Qin Dynasty of China rules were changed by enforcing strict laws. For punishment they used the nine familial extermination as punishment. The nine familial extermination was one of the most brutal and cruelest execution method used in China. It was basically when nine people from the accused’s family were executed. By the end of the 2nd century tenants of Jewish laws had 3 purposes. One of them was to make sure the criminal was punished for his actions. Punishments such as banishment, fines and imprisonment were given at this time. In the third century a punishment called Damnatio ad bestias was further introduced. Damnatio bestias was a punishment used for entertainment. â€Æ' In the 5th century the Roman law of the Twelve Tables contained the death penalty. Most people were executed by hanging or beheading for crimes against the church. Crucifixion was a punishment used in 6th century BCE, but was later abolished in the Roman Empire in 337 CE. It was when your arms were tied or nailed to a cross while the cross was tied and nailed to a pole. The person’s feet were a block of wood so their hands wouldn’t tear. Their feet were nailed to the cross. This is also known as Jesus Christ’s death. .. ... circumstances in 1998. Moving on to the 21st century, in 2001 there were 3048 prisoners executed in 31 countries. Most of them took place in Iran, Saudi Arabia, U.S. and China. China executes more people than any other country on Earth. In 2004, the death penalty was restored as a punishment. Later in the U.S. the death penalty support which was at 65% used to be at 74%. Also, it is said that 51% believe the death penalty isn’t used often enough. The history of punishment has been changed many times throughout the centuries. Capital punishment is trying to be banished today. Cruel and illegal executions are still going on just to get confessions before sentences were passed. Works Cited †¢ http://www.wcprg.org/History.pdf †¢ http://www.clarkprosecutor.org/html/death/timeline.htm †¢ http://www.smashinglists.com/unusual-methods-of-capital-punishment/2/